Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance (2018)

We found the average cost of homeowners insurance to be $1,083 nationwide. Homeowners insurance rates have continued to rise steadily throughout the United States, up almost 50% in the last 10 years alone. If you're in the market for a policy, we did some digging to show what parts of the country are the most and least expensive. Read more below, or enter your zip code in one of the boxes above to find the cost of homeowners insurance in your area.

Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance

We reviewed homeowners insurance premiums in every state on both a monthly and annual basis. Below, we’ve also included how each state stacks up against the national average annual premium of $1,083. A positive number in the "% Change vs. Avg" column represents a state that's more expensive than average, while a negative value represents a cheaper than average state. Homeowners premiums in different states vary widely, and depending on where you live, the average cost of home insurance may range from approximately $600 to $2000 per year.

﻿Rank

State

Monthly Homeowners Insurance

Annual Homeowners Insurance

% Change vs Average

44

Alabama

$112

$1,340

24%

22

Alaska

$81

$976

-10%

8

Arizona

$64

$765

-29%

39

Arkansas

$104

$1,252

16%

21

California

$81

$974

-10%

41

Colorado

$106

$1,273

18%

43

Connecticut

$111

$1,337

23%

34

D.C.

$96

$1,151

6%

7

Delaware

$61

$736

-32%

51

Florida

$171

$2,055

90%

30

Georgia

$91

$1,089

1%

26

Hawaii

$85

$1,018

-6%

2

Idaho

$49

$590

-46%

23

Illinois

$82

$987

-9%

19

Indiana

$79

$944

-13%

12

Iowa

$71

$853

-21%

46

Kansas

$119

$1,431

32%

28

Kentucky

$85

$1,023

-6%

49

Louisiana

$154

$1,847

71%

10

Maine

$68

$811

-25%

18

Maryland

$79

$942

-13%

42

Massachusetts

$110

$1,314

21%

13

Michigan

$72

$865

-20%

36

Minnesota

$102

$1,219

13%

47

Mississippi

$121

$1,447

34%

35

Missouri

$100

$1,199

11%

25

Montana

$84

$1,003

-7%

37

Nebraska

$102

$1,226

13%

6

Nevada

$59

$704

-35%

16

New Hampshire

$75

$905

-16%

31

New Jersey

$91

$1,092

1%

17

New Mexico

$78

$937

-13%

40

New York

$105

$1,256

16%

29

North Carolina

$88

$1,056

-2%

32

North Dakota

$95

$1,136

5%

9

Ohio

$66

$797

-26%

48

Oklahoma

$148

$1,772

64%

1

Oregon

$48

$574

-47%

15

Pennsylvania

$74

$893

-18%

45

Rhode Island

$117

$1,398

29%

38

South Carolina

$103

$1,240

14%

24

South Dakota

$83

$995

-8%

33

Tennessee

$95

$1,139

5%

50

Texas

$162

$1,947

80%

3

Utah

$53

$634

-41%

11

Vermont

$70

$844

-22%

20

Virginia

$79

$946

-13%

5

Washington

$58

$695

-36%

14

West Virginia

$73

$877

-19%

4

Wisconsin

$57

$686

-37%

27

Wyoming

$85

$1,021

-6%

Find the Cheapest Homeowners Insurance Quotes in Your Area

States With the Highest Average Homeowners Insurance Costs

Predictably, the priciest states in which to insure your home are the states most susceptible to large scale natural disasters. Florida and Texas, our clear number one and two most expensive states for homeowners insurance with rates 90% and 80% above the nation's mean, respectively, are highly susceptible to a slew of natural disasters such as tornadoes, tropical storms and more. Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi—also no strangers to natural disasters—rounded out our top five. Overall, we found that the average resident of our top five states would pay 67% more than the typical U.S. resident does for homeowners insurance annually. The graph below shows the five most expensive states for home insurance:

States With the Cheapest Average Homeowners Insurance Rates

Compared to the most expensive states for homeowners insurance, the five cheapest states aren't nearly as susceptible to damaging natural phenomena. Four of the top five most lowest cost states for homeowners insurance are located in the western half of the U.S. (with three being in the Northwest corner). Wisconsin, in the Midwest, rounds out our top five.

Here are the 5 states with the most affordable average homeowners insurance rates:

What's the Biggest Cause of Homeowners Insurance Losses?

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) found that 97% of homeowners insurance losses are due to property damage. The balance of non-property damage losses comes from liability cases like personal injury. Delving deeper into the numbers, we can look at what usually causes the property damage that occurs The ISO lists the following perils as the most frequent causes of homeowners insurance losses, with wind and hail damage leading the way at 33.1% of all homeowners insurance losses.

Property damage as a percent of total homeowners insurance losses...

Wind and hail (33.1%)

Water damage and freezing (29.5%)

Fire and lightning (26.8%)

Other property damage, including vandalism and malicious mischief (5.7%)

Theft (1.9%)

Liability damages as a percent of total homeowners insurance losses...

Bodily injury and property damage (2.7%)

Medical payments and other (0.02%)

Credit card and other (less than 0.1%)

Included in the property damage claims are perils like theft, the fifth ranking category for total homeowners insurance claim losses but fourth, ahead of fire and lightning, for claim frequency. Among claims filed with insurers for theft or damage to contents of the home—as opposed to dwelling damage—jewelry is typically the number one most claimed item based on number of claims. Our chart below shows you the other nine most claimed household items on an annual basis by percentage:

Largest Homeowners Insurance Companies

As you should for all your major insurance decisions, we recommend you get multiple homeowners insurance quotes from reputable insurers. Until you compare quotes specific to your house, it's difficult to tell who will offer you the best rate on homeowners insurance premiums. That being said, we've listed the top 10 homeowners insurance companies by the amount of premiums written and the companies' consumer complaint ratios in hopes of aiding your search. Consumer complaint ratios are compared to a national median of 1.0, with higher numbers indicating an above-median number of complaints when adjusted for market share, so the higher the number, the worse an insurer's service.

Insurance Company

Premiums Written ($ thousands)

% of Market

Consumer Complaint Ratio

State Farm Group

$17,556,871

18.6%

0.34

Allstate Corp.

$7,957,403

8.4%

0.79

Liberty Mutual

$6,471,114

6.9%

0.62

USAA Insurance Group

$5,703,741

6.1%

0.45

Farmers Insurance Group

$5,617,990

6.0%

0.53

Travelers Group

$3,547,478

3.8%

0.50

Nationwide Corp.

$3,290,890

3.5%

0.33

American Family Insurance Group

$3,045,589

3.2%

0.76

Chubb Ltd.

$2,776,827

2.9%

0.09

Erie Insurance Group

$1,596,490

1.7%

0.44

Consumer complaint ratios are from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Insurance groups have a variety of subsidiary companies and complaint ratios were drawn from the subsidiary with the most homeowners premiums written.

What Factors Impact Your Home Insurance Rates?

A variety of factors besides location will affect your home insurance rate but none is more influential than the amount of dwelling coverage you purchase. Dwelling coverage is the foundation of a home insurance policy and we recommend purchasing enough to cover the replacement cost of your home, defined as the cost of rebuilding it and any attached structures, such as a garage. The more dwelling coverage you purchase, the more expensive your homeowners insurance rates will be, all else equal.

To give you a better idea of the impact of coverage on homeowners insurance rates, we studied coverage amounts of $250,000, $500,000 and $750,000 for a home in several zip codes and tracked how changing coverage limits affected the quoted rate from a national insurer. We repeated this process for the same house in three different states. The chart below displays the blended mean cost of home insurance based on the house's cost, and can give you an idea of how much rates can increase depending on the coverage limits you elect for. Rates are averaged across the different locations and serve an illustrative purpose only. Your actual quote will vary due to a mix of factors including your home location, features and more.

Our analysis shows that homeowners insurance rates indeed increase relative to the coverage limits selected for your home, though not linearly. For our sample home, we found that the insurance for a $500,000 house was 64% more expensive than a $250,000 house whereas, the insurance for the $750,000 house was only 35% pricier than a $500,000 house. So at higher coverage levels, each additional dollar of coverage is cheaper.

Although coverage limits are the most influential component affecting your home insurance premium, a variety of other factors—some fixed and some adjustable—will affect your home insurance rates.

Adjustable factors affecting your home insurance rates...

Your personal liability coverage limit: Though not as influential on your rates as dwelling coverage limits, the more personal liability coverage you choose the higher your annual premium. Coverage limits in a standard homeowners insurance policy generally start at $100,000.

Your personal belongings coverage limit: Also called home contents coverage, homeowners insurance includes coverage for your personal property up to set limits. If you have the option to adjust your personal property coverage limit, electing for more coverage will raise your premium.

Your choice of deductible: Your deductible is the amount of estimated damage you'll be responsible for out of pocket when you make a claim. A higher deductible means a lower premium as your insurer will be writing you a check for less money when you make a claim. The reverse is true too: a lower deductible will result in a higher annual premium.

Home insurance discounts: Insurers offer a variety of ways to get save on home insurance rates, including discounts for bundling your auto and home insurance purchase together and for home safety features such as a central alarm system.

Fixed factors affecting your home insurance rates…

Age of your home: Older homes are more likely to have wear and tear and could be charged a higher premium by insurers as a consequence.

Your claims history: This applies to insurance claims you have personally made and potentially to claims made by previous inhabitants of your home. If you have a history of filing homeowners insurance claims you are likely to be viewed as a higher risk customer and thus pay higher rates. If previous inhabitants of your home have a history of filing claims—even if those claims were not made by you—your house will be viewed as a riskier proposition and be subject to a higher premium.

Materials used to build your home: A home with a wooden frame will be considered more susceptible to fire, termites, rotting and other dangers compared to one made of brick. The less risky the construction of your home is seen by an insurer, the more likely you are to have a lower premium.

Example: How Does Your Home Framing Type Affect Your Rates?

The type of framing your house is one factor that can impact how much money you spend on home insurance. In our study, we found that framing made of brick garnered the cheapest home insurance rates, while that made of logs or wood quoted as the most expensive rates. We looked at four different framing types for a $250,000 home in a set zip code and analyzed how the rate changed for a national home insurer and repeated this process for three states: Oregon, California, and Texas. Below, we've included a table that outlines how you can expect your house's framing type to impact your homeowners insurance rate when compared to houses with other framing types. Keep in mind, the figures listed in our table are a blended average across the three states and only show the relative relationship. Your actual rate will be tailored to your home's location, size, features and more.

﻿Siding Type

Annual Rate

% Change vs Average

Frame

$1,365

1%

Brick/Masonary

$1,216

-10%

Masonry Veener/Brick Veener

$1,282

-5%

Log/Wood

$1,520

13%

Typically, we found there was a little or no price difference between brick and masonry framing versus brick and masonry veneer framing. Log or wood framing was generally the most expensive framing type in all areas, with some exceptions.

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